


The Fort

by Multifandom_damnation



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Basically the family being a family, Gen, I love these guys, This is fluff, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-11-02 04:34:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10937097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation
Summary: “Jason…”“But, Tim- ““No.”“But why not?”Tim has gotten roped into helping his stupid brothers with their stupid ideas and he just knows that this is going to make Bruce angry at them but when Cullen looks at him with those eyes and when Cass pouts at him and when Barbra promised that she will tell them when Bruce comes home...Who is he to refuse some good old family bonding?





	The Fort

“Jason…”

“But, Tim- “

“ _No_.”

“But why not?”

Tim sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. He counted to ten and tried to calm down, breathing in and out of his nose in time with his counting “Because” he started, turning back around to Jason who was leaning back on one of Bruce’s mahogany desks, his leather jacket rolled up to his elbows and his hair a black and white unruly mess. “I am not taking time out of my very important schedule- one _you_ don’t have living as a full-time superhero in the woods with Roy and Kori - and I have _very_ limited free time that I am _not_ going to waste on you. So, Jason, the answer is _no_.”

“But why?”

“Jason, we are not building a pillow and blanket fort in the middle of Wayne Manor!”

“But it will be the most amazing thing that has ever happened to this crappy place!” Jason shouted as he raised his arms and pushed himself off of the desk to follow Tim out of the room. “It will be great! We can get everyone to pitch in! Cass, Harper, Dick, Steph, everyone!”

“ _NO_ Jason! I don’t have time for this!”

“It will be a great bonding exercise!”

“NO!”

Tim was about to drop the subject and walk out of the room when he bumped into Dick, who was walking into the study, wearing an atrocious orange sweater and mismatched socks. One had jack-o-lanterns on it and the other had snowmen.

“Oh, hey guys!” Dick greeted, too cheery for this late in the afternoon. “What are you up to?”

“Where did you get those socks and that sweater.” Tim asked “They are hideous. The socks don’t even match.”

Dick ignored him and turned to Jason. “You look like you were having an argument. Should I go?”

“Oh, hell no. I need you to agree with me on something.” Jason said coming closer.

“Oh?” Dick asked, raising an eyebrow and making a face as if it say _what now?_

“Yes, ‘ _oh’_ ” Jason said ignoring the face completely and hooked his arm through Tim’s who had his hands on his hips. “ _I_ think it would be a great idea to build a pillow fort in say… the library. _Tim_ over here thinks it’s a stupid idea. What do you think?”

At the mention of “pillow fort” Dicks' eyes lit up, but he made it look like he had to think it over. “Hmmm…” He hummed as he put his hand on his chin and looked up, pretending to ponder. “Bruce and Alfred aren’t going to be back for a few hours… we could probably get most of the family over… I could convince Dames to help out and we can always clean it up if we get told off, not like the slimeball thing we did last year…”

(At the mention of the slime ball they all let out a shudder, they were still finding green slime in the nooks and crannies of the manor to this day)

“I think it’s a great idea!” He shouted finally.

Tim’s eyes went wide and his face went slack. “You’re kidding.”

“Yes!” Jason yelled, pumping a fist in the air. “I’ll call Cass and Harper and get them to bring all the pillows and blankets they can find.”

As they were all leaving Damian walked into the room. “What is everyone doing in here?”

But before his sentence could be over, Dick grabbed his arm on his way out and dragged him along. “We're going to make a fort Damian!”

Tim put his head in his hands and sighed. _I am so dead_.

* * *

 

 Half an hour later, most of the family had made their way over. Harper had come, but only if she could bring Cullen which Jason agreed with “the more the merrier”.

Steph and Cass came to together and had brought every pillow and blanket they owned- Steph only came on the condition that she could supply the music and her large pillows as well as normal ones, which Jason promptly agreed.

Dick and Damian had found every pillow in the manor and had dumped them on the floor in the library. Damian grumbling the whole time of _“You said we were going to make a fort Grayson, not pile up a bunch of pillows and play hide and seek.”_

Jason had been in charge of finding blankets which wasn't too hard as they were all on beds and in cupboards but _damn_ were they heavy.

Barbra said she couldn’t make it, but she sent her pillows and blankets along with Steph, with the very stern warning of _“I need them back by tomorrow morning or dad is going to think we’ve been robbed”_. She said she would keep an eye out and tell them when Bruce was on his way.

The only person who refused to help out was Tim, who was sitting in a leather armchair on the far side of the library watching bedding and pillows dumped on the floor as more and more people came in through the door, making more and more noise. The only person who had even acknowledge Tim’s existence so far was Cullen, who Tim didn’t know too well except that he was Harpers younger brother and liked that TV show “Supernatural”, but gave Tim a smile and a firm wave anyway. Tim gave a small one back before Harper grabbed her brother's arm and dragged him back outside to help Cass unload the car.

In the centre of the library was a ginormous pile of pillows, white and purple and black and patterned, of all different shapes and sizes. There were round ones, and ones that were shaped like stars or hearts, plain pillows that were put in beds. The blankets were not much better. There were bed sheets and doonas, blankets that were fluffy, old blankets, cotton blankets, a rainbow blanket that Steph tried to knit herself one year that she ended up giving up on. It was truly too many pillows and way too many blankets- and that was coming from the person who is fond of using the term _“you can never have too many blankets”_

Suddenly, everyone who had come to the Manor had burst into the library carrying the last of the things with full hands so all Tim could see was their hair. He smiled as he saw the sudden flood of blonde and blacks and blue and purple and brown and white. These were the people he loved, and _they were going to be the death of him_.

“Right,” Jason said as he dumped his armload on the pile. Everyone else followed suit. “This is all of it. It shouldn’t take too long, depending on who helps out. And we need everyone…” Everyone looked at Tim who was still sitting in his armchair, far away from the pile of things that were too soft and would probably make him fall asleep. “No.” He said, crossing his arms.

“But Tim, were a family- “

“This is _your_ idea, Jason. I’m not helping, there’s more than enough of you. This is a waste of time, and I have better things to do than dick around with a bunch of pillows.”

To Tim’s, and probably everyone’s surprise, a small but determined voice called out “Please?”

Tim was not expecting that, and he was expecting even less the person who said it. Cullen stood up next to his sister, and had his hands behind his back, playing with the edge of a blanket with his foot. “We never get to do these things, me and Harpo.” He said looking down. “Back with dad, we never could. And we can’t do it now anyway, we live in hotels and with Harper being Bluebird… But now, we have a family” He said looking back up and around the room. “and this is like being a kid again, with people who care about you, want you to be safe and happy. You guys are family. And this is the first time we’ve-or I’ve- gotten to do a family thing. So please Tim, help us out?”

Now everyone was looking between Cullen to Tim and back again. Cullen was looking at Tim with wide eyes and suddenly, Tim felt bad for the kid. This is, like Jason said, a “family bonding” and this kid looks like he needed that.

So against his better judgement and he was probably going to regret this when Bruce comes home and catches them because there was _no way_ Barbra was actually going to warn them when he comes home, he stood up swinging his arms and sighed. Tim walked down the steps and to the pile of pillows and bent down to re-arrange a small section until he could see the inside of it. He crawled further inside, trying to make it as hollow as he could without disturbing the pillows on top. The others suddenly sprang into action, not expecting Tim to take charge but following him all the same, moving and rotating pillows, Damian and Cass helping Tim hollow out the inside, Jason, Dick and Steph doing the walls and roof and Harper and Cullen trying to keep it upright.

Suddenly Tim stopped and crawled out for a second, holding a black pillow in the shape of a bat. “Who the hell actually bought a batman pillow?”

Steph’s head poked out from where she was waist deep in a wall and grinned at him. “It was half price at a closing- down sale.”

Tim shook his head and went back to his building.

* * *

 

After an hour and a half, the fort was finished, blankets covering the outside so it “looked more like a house” according to Steph and “for extra stability” according to Harper. It was huge, and the inside “would make the Batcave jealous” according to Dick and would “probably anger my father” according to Damian. It really was amazing. Multi coloured and warm, it was worth it. Tim looked over at Cullen who had just come out of the fort from placing pillows and blankets inside to make it comfortable, and he looked _so happy_. He caught Tim looking at him and smiled, mouthing a thank you. Tim smiled back at him.

“Right,” Jason said rubbing his hands together with obvious glee “Let’s get inside this bad boy.”

Like a dam being broken, everyone ran forward and crowded into the fort. Harper had hooked it up with lights that changed colour from purple to pink to blue. It was...pretty. There were lots of blankets and pillows inside that were left over, so they all just huddled under them and relaxed. All the building had made them pretty tired, so they just lied there in silence for a little while. _Worth it_ Tim thought.

Steph broke the silence by turning to her side and seeing Dicks' feet.

“Dick?” she asked into the silence.

“Mmm?”

“What the _hell_ are you wearing?”

Laughter pierced the air and everyone erupted into uncontrollable giggles. Even Dick was laughing but he pretended to be annoyed. “I couldn’t find any other socks.” He replied. “And this is the only sweater I had that still fit me. I’m sorry if you don’t like my fashion statement.”

“It’s a _statement_ alright, just not of fashion…”

“It’s all I had!”

“But one sock is for Halloween and the other is for winter!”

“I couldn’t find anything else, Stephanie!”

“They aren’t even the same pair!”

“Will you both be _quiet_?” Damian hissed underneath a particularly large blanket. “I am trying to sleep!”

The others decided this would probably be a good idea, so they all settled down and one by one started to fall asleep. The last thought that crossed Tim’s mind before the peacefulness of sleep took him was _I wonder what Bruce will say when he comes home?_  

* * *

 

About 2 hours later, Bruce Wayne and Alfred walked through the front doors of Wayne Manor with only one thought on their mind- looking for the children and making sure they didn’t kill each other.

They looked in the rooms and noticed a strange absence of bedding, and the cupboards were lacking all of those blankets. There were more cars in the driveway then when they had left, and he could not find his children anywhere.

“Alfred,” He said once they had regrouped in the dining room. “I can’t find my children.”

Alfred had a look of mirth on his face and was trying to suppress a smile. “I seem to have found them, sir”

Bruce followed the butler to the library and as he slowly opened the doors his mouth fell open. “You are _joking_.”

“It appears not, sir.”

In the centre of the library was every blanket and pillow he owned, plus others that he didn’t recognise. _My children have actually made a pillow fort._

There was only one thing he could do in a situation like this.

“Alfred, do I have anything else on this evening?”

“No, sir.”

“Then please, don’t disturb me for the rest of the night please.”

“Of course, sir.”

As the butler left and closed the doors behind him, Bruce walked towards the fort and removed a flap of a blanket to reveal the inside, and all his children (and is that Cullen?) lying in a heap under some blankets, fast asleep. He did the only thing someone in his situation could do.

He crawled inside, lied next to his family and fell asleep.


End file.
